1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to elasped time recording apparatus, and more particularly, to a portable, self-contained, cummulative elapsed time recorder unit for providing records of total time spent by an individual working on each of a number of different job assignments during a given period.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The concept of time recording in occupational fields dates back for over a century, and present time recording methods are relatively unchanged. Most time oriented professionals, such as lawyers, accountants, and the like who bill their work on an hourly basis, rely on the wristwatch, memory, or hastily written logs for time control. Accuracy is suspect, and time is misallocated so that billings are lost. While various automatic timekeeping and accounting systems have been proposed for obtaining accurate records of time useful for billing purposes, most of the systems have not gained wide acceptance for various reasons, including complexity, high cost, difficulty of operation, and lack of flexibility.
One known job-accounting recording system disclosed in the U.S. Pat. No. 3,648,243 issued to W. J. Wiggens on Mar. 7, 1972, includes a central unit and a number of remote units, one for each individual for which job-accounting information is desired. Each remote unit comprises a key-set which enables the user to access the central unit and supply coded information, including job and employee identification codes, to the central unit. The central unit responds to the coded information to record start and stop times in association with the job identification number, for future processing by a computer.
Although the patented system allows central recording of job-accounting information from a plurality of remote terminals, it would appear that installation of such system would be costly in view of the need to provide wiring between the central station and each remote terminal unit. Also, the remote unit is useable only at its point of installation, typically an office, and thus, an individual using the system must provide separate accounting for time worked outside of his office.
Moreover, the terminal unit is not provided with a display, and thus, an individual using the unit has no idea of whether or not he has entered the right job identification code at the time he starts work on a given job assignment. Further, although the central unit may include apparatus which provides a printout of start and stop time, such printout is not readily accessible to the user. Also, the printout does not directly indicate the cummulative elapsed time for each work assignment at any time during a billing period, so that it is difficult to determine the total time spent to date on any project until such time as the recorded data is processed by a computer.
In the U.S. Pat. No. 3,911,446, issued to E. J. Albertini on Oct. 7, 1975, there is disclosed a self-contained, timekeeping and accounting unit for use by professional persons. The unit functions automatically to record client identification numbers, work activity codes, and the time spent at the particular work. The unit provides a record of such information on paper tape, or on magnetic tape, which is used in preparing statements. Although the unit provides a numerical display of the client identification number and work code, the unit does not provide a readout of elapsed time, other than that printed on the paper tape when a timing cycle is terminated.
Also, the unit records only individual time elements, and does not provide cummulative elapsed time for each work assignment. Such information can be obtained only by adding up individual time elements recorded for the work assignment for a given billing period. Other similar automatic time-keeping and accounting units are shown in the U.S. Pat. No. 3,808,372 to L. A. Sielsch, and the U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,725,947 and 3,943,526 to E. J. Albertini et al.
In the U.S. Pat. No. 3,922,531, issued to E. Willman et al, on Nov. 25, 1975, there is disclosed a flexitime recorder unit which is used to record "at work" time for a group of employees. The unit has a timing pulse generator, and a number of mechanical roller counters, with switches for connecting the counters to the timing pulse generator, permitting personnel to switch on and off their respective counters when starting and finishing work. While such recorder unit provides a separate time record of "on the job" time for a number of workers, a separate counter is required for each worker.